


Every Time I Get Arrested

by igrockspock



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-03
Updated: 2010-08-03
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/igrockspock/pseuds/igrockspock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of Vulcan's destruction, Jim apologizes to Gaila for the Kobayashi Maru.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Time I Get Arrested

"Gaila, I am so sorry. About the Kobayashi Maru. About everything."

She knows he's sincere because of the way he can't quite meet her eyes. Jim's the opposite of most humans: he looks you in the eyes when he's lying.

"It's okay, Jim. Really."

The newly regenerated skin on her face feels too tight. A few hours ago, it had been a tangled mass of burns.

"No. No, it's really not. You are -- were -- my friend, and I used you to get what I wanted."

"We both use what we have. It's why we understand each other."

She gives him a smile, the lop-sided, mischievous one she always used when she wanted him to break the rules with her. The new skin on her cheeks feels strange, and she wonders if she'd gotten the smile right, whether she looks like her seductive, devious self or a broken girl trying too hard to smile in a corner of medbay. She doesn't wait to find out.

"Jim," she says, and she feels happy even if the smile tugging on the edges of her lips still doesn't quite feel natural. "Let me tell you why it's okay. Every time I get arrested, I claim I lost my ID and I use your name."

She starts walking down the corridor, leaving Jim standing mystified behind her, but she stops and looks back.

"You probably shouldn't go to Maine for awhile."

Her uniform dress is all scorched, but she swishes her hips as she walks away and pretends it cost a million credits. Behind her, Jim starts laughing, a soft and slow chuckle that gradually expands till it fills the corridor.

She hears him coming behind her with gangly not-quite-running footfalls that echo on the metal decking. His hand falls heavy on her shoulder and he spins her around.

"Thank you," he says, looking straight at her with blue eyes so wide open she thinks she can see the whole sky in them. That's the problem with Jim. Sometimes he looks you in the eye when he's _not_ lying.

Of course, a lot of people would say that's the problem with her too.

"You're welcome," she says, and means it.


End file.
